Flows report on visit by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Bart De Wever

INEOS founder and chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever were impressed by the work and progress they saw during their visit to the construction site of Project ONE in the port of Antwerp. They also shared a clear message during the visit.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe: “The business plan that we’ve put together for Project ONE is still very sound. But the costs of building have been much more expensive because of permitting issues we had to endure. Europe is a tough place for permitting and obviously, competitively speaking, for chemicals it’s a tough place. If you look at the top ten manufacturers of chemicals in Europe, eight of them are closing down and leaving Europe. And if I look at the top ten manufacturers of chemicals in America they’re all investing in America.”

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever: “I am grateful that INEOS has persevered with Project ONE. If the new plant opens within two years, I will be a very happy man. To all those protesting, I would ask them to think carefully about what they are doing. They certainly won’t save the planet by forcing European industry to move to countries with no environmental regulations.”

Read more about the visit